Soviet Emigre Orchestra 'Stunning' At Moravian

The Soviet Emigre Orchestra played for an audience of at least 2,000 people Saturday night at Johnston Hall, Moravian College, as part of the Bethlehem Community Concert Series.

Just before the group played, U.S. Rep. Don Ritter, R-15th District, presented conductor Lazar Gosman with a pewter plate engraved with the congressional seal. Gosman responded warmly, noting that the best way for him to express his feeling for this country and its people "is through our music."

With that, the Soviet Emigre Orchestra played a stunning, richly varied, beautifully vibrant concert of music by Mozart, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky. And if freedom is inspiration here, then it is divine inspiration, to say the least.

Mozart's "Eine, Kleine Nachtmusik" opened the program. Here was Mozart presented as a precious gem, handled with extreme care in small, perfect ensemble and brilliant bursts of sound. The precision and unity of the ensemble were outstanding, the dynamic range inventive. Gosman's interpretive gifts were in evidence everywhere, from the broadly given forte in the menuetto to the delicate, intimate pianissimo in the opening allegro.

The Shostakovich work, "Sinfonietta," found the group amid the sadder sounds of their homeland. An air of grief, coupled with a compelling tension, permeates this music. It must be a work that is both a duty and a sorrow to share with audiences. It paints harsh pictures of Russia, and was played with a personal intensity that wasn't hard to miss.

Two works by Tchaikovsky completed the program. Gosman turned out a virtuosic solo in the folk-flavored Russian dance from "Swan Lake." And the "Serenade For Strings" displayed an incredibly sweet tone, long elegant phrasing and an overall resounding abandon that was a delight to hear. A standing ovation brought the orchestra back for encores by Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich.

Judith Wyatt is a free-lance classical music reviewer for The Call-Chronicle.